Game presentation in a retail establishment

ABSTRACT

A game presentation such as a virtual slot machine is displayed by a display device associated with a point of sale (POS) terminal. The game presentation includes images of products for which product identifying codes are entered at the POS terminal. The game presentation indicates to a customer an outcome of a random process pursuant to which the customer may be awarded a benefit such as a free product, a discount on a product selected for purchase, a coupon or an upsell offer.

[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/659,752, filed on Sep. 11, 2000, entitled “GAMEPRESENTATION IN A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT”, which issued Oct. 21, 2003 asU.S. Pat. No. 6,634,550, and which claims the benefit of priority ofprovisional patent application Serial No. 60/210,094, filed Jun. 7,2000.

[0002] The disclosures of each of the above applications areincorporated herein by reference as part of the present disclosure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] The following patent applications include subject matter that isrelated to the present application:

[0004] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/538,773, filed Mar. 20, 2000,entitled “Entertainment Layer Overlaid on Online Transactions”;

[0005] provisional patent application Serial No. 60/204,673, filed May17, 2000;

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,843 B1, entitled “SYSTEM TO PROVIDE GAME PLAYFOR PRODUCTS”, filed on Jun. 29, 2000, issued Sep. 3, 2002;

[0007] provisional patent application Serial No. 60/206,965, filed May25, 2000;

[0008] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/679,186, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS WHEREIN A PLAYER INDICATES AN ITEM THAT MAY BE RECEIVEDBASED ON A GAME EVENT OUTCOME ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLAYER”, filed on Oct.3, 2000;

[0009] provisional patent application Serial No. 60/183,391, filed Feb.18, 2000;

[0010] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/604,898, entitled “METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING OR FACILITATING A PROMOTION”, filed on Jun. 28,2000.

[0011] The disclosures of each of the above applications areincorporated herein by reference as part of the present disclosure.

BACKGROUND

[0012] Customers can spend significant time waiting while in a store.Waiting in line at the checkout counter of a store, and standing at thecounter while one's purchases are rung up, can frustrate shoppers at astore. Delays in checkout may become so frustrating to shoppers in somecases that they abandon their purchases and walk out of the storewithout buying, causing the store to lose revenue.

[0013] Programs called “Checkout Coupon” and “Checkout Direct” areprovided by Catalina Marketing, Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla. Theseprograms deliver coupons or other incentives to the point of sale andmay be targeted to the individual customer. Catalina Marketing, Inc.also sponsors an in-store instant-win game to give customers incentivesto shop at stores for which the game is made available.

[0014] It would be beneficial both to customers and to retailestablishments if the shopping experience, and particularly the processof checking out purchases, could be made more entertaining for thecustomer. A store that is able to make the shopping experience moreentertaining may gain a competitive advantage and draw customers awayfrom other stores.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a system provided inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram representation of an embodiment of acentral controller that is a component of the system of FIG. 1;

[0017]FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of an embodiment of apoint of sale terminal that is a component of the system of FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 4 is a tabular representation of an embodiment of a productdatabase that is stored in the central controller of FIG. 2;

[0019]FIG. 5 is a tabular representation of an embodiment of a coupondatabase that is stored in the central controller of FIG. 2;

[0020]FIG. 6 is a tabular representation of an embodiment of an upselldatabase that is stored in the central controller of FIG. 2;

[0021]FIG. 7 is a tabular representation of an embodiment of a customerdatabase that is stored in the central controller of FIG. 2;

[0022]FIG. 8 is a tabular representation of an embodiment of alikelihood of occurrence database that is stored in the centralcontroller of FIG. 2;

[0023]FIG. 9 is a tabular representation of an embodiment of apresentation database that is stored in the central controller of FIG.2;

[0024]FIG. 10 shows a typical entry in an embodiment of a transactiondatabase that is stored in the central controller of FIG. 2;

[0025]FIG. 11 is a flow chart that illustrates an embodiment of aprocess carried out in the system of FIG. 1 according to an aspect ofthe invention;

[0026]FIG. 12 shows a screen display which may be provided by the systemof FIG. 1 in accordance with the invention;

[0027]FIG. 13 is a flow chart that illustrates an embodiment of aprocess carried out in the system of FIG. 1 according to another aspectof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] By practicing the present invention, retailers are able to makethe shopping experience more entertaining and interesting to customers,thereby attracting customers to their stores.

[0029] The following definitions apply in this specification and in theappended claims: benefit: includes one or more of a free product, adiscount offer, an upsell, a coupon, and a cash prize. customeridentifier: a code that uniquely identifies a customer. image: apictorial representation of a physical entity. indicia: an image orother symbol portrayed as a constituent of a virtual slot machine reel.product: a good and/or service. product identifier: a code that uniquelyidentifies a product. random outcome: a result of a random orpsuedo-random process undertaken to determine whether a benefit will beawarded to an individual. retail price: a price that a product costs inthe absence of any promotion or discount. shelf: any structure orlocation, separate from a point-of-sale terminal, for displayingproducts for purchase. symbol: includes one or more of an image, a logo,and a string of alphanumeric characters. upsell: a proposal to acustomer that he or she add an additional product or a replacementproduct to a transaction.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrates a system 100 inwhich the present invention may be applied. The system 100 includes acentral controller 102 and a plurality of point of sale (POS) terminals104 connected for data communication with the central controller 102.The POS terminals are installed at a retail store (not separately shown)and the central controller may, but need not, also be installed at theretail store. Although three POS terminals are shown in the drawing, itshould be understood that the number of POS terminals in the system maybe greater than or less than three.

[0031] The system may also include a plurality of terminals 106installed at shelves in the retail store. Because the shelf terminalsare not required for some aspects of the invention, the terminals 106are shown in phantom in the drawing. If present, the shelf terminals 106are connected for data communication with the central controller 102.

[0032] Details of the central controller 102 are shown in block diagramform in FIG. 2. The hardware components of the controller 102 may beconstituted by conventional computer hardware, such as a mini computeror a server computer of the type employed to manage a system of POSterminals. The controller 102 includes a processor or microchip 202 thatis in communication with or otherwise uses or includes one or morecommunication ports 204. The communication port 204 is of a type toenable the controller 102 to engage in data communication with the POSterminals 104 and the shelf terminals 106, if present. The datacommunication between the central controller and the terminals may becarried out by conventional data networking facilities such as anEthernet local area network, a token ring type local area network or awireless communication facility.

[0033] The controller 102 also includes an internal clock element 206which controls the timing of operations performed by the processor 202.Also connected to the processor 202 are read only memory (ROM) 208 andrandom access memory (RAM) 210, which respectively provide fixed andworking data storage for the processor 202. Also operatively connectedto the processor 202 may be one or more input/output devices 212. Suchdevices may include a printer and an operator terminal with a display,keyboard and mouse.

[0034] Also included in the controller 102 is a mass storage device 214which stores information, software, programs, databases, etc. Thestorage device 214 preferably comprises an appropriate combination ofmagnetic, optical and/or semi-conductor memory, and may be constitutedby one or more hard disks. The processor 202 and the storage device 214may each be, for example: (i) located entirely within a single computeror other computing device; or (ii) connected to each other by a remotecommunication medium, such as a serial port cable, telephone line orradio frequency transceiver.

[0035] The software and other information stored on the storage device214 preferably includes some or all of the following: a control program216 for operating the controller 102; a product database 218 for storinginformation about products sold by the retail store served by thecontroller 102; a coupon database 220 for storing information aboutcoupon offers that may be made through the system 100; a customerdatabase 224 for storing information about one or more customers; anoutcome database 226 for storing information to be used in determiningrandom outcomes in accordance with the invention; a presentationdatabase 228 for storing information, graphics, etc. for interfaces thatmay be presented by the system in connection with random outcomes; atransaction database 230 for storing information related to transactionshandled by the system 100; and an upsell database 232 for storinginformation concerning upsells that may be offered to customers throughthe system 100.

[0036] Each of the databases 218, 220, 224, 226, 228, 230 and 232 andtheir use and potential data structure will be discussed in more detailbelow. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the schematicillustrations and accompanying descriptions of the databases presentedherein are exemplary arrangements for stored representations ofinformation. A number of other arrangements may be employed besidesthose suggested by the tables shown. Similarly, the illustrated entriesof the databases represent exemplary information only. Thus, thoseskilled in the art will understand that the number and content of theentries can be different from those illustrated herein. Not all of thedatabases 218, 220, 224, 226, 228, 230 and 232 will be used or needed inevery embodiment of the system 100.

[0037] The control program 216 controls the processor 202. The processor202 preferably performs instructions of the control program 216, andthereby operates in accordance with the present invention, andparticularly in accordance with the methods described in detail herein.The control program 216 may be stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/orencrypted format. The control program 216 furthermore includes programelements that may be necessary such as an operating system, a databasemanagement system and device drivers for allowing the processor 202 tointerface with peripheral devices, databases, etc. Appropriate programelements are known to those skilled in the art, and need not bedescribed in detail herein. According to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the instructions of the program 216 may be read into a mainmemory from another computer-readable medium, such as the storage device214. Execution of sequences of the instructions in the program 216causes the processor 202 to perform the process steps described herein.In alternative embodiments, hard wired circuitry may be used in placeof, or in combination with, software instructions for implementation ofsome or all of the methods of the present invention. Thus, embodimentsof the present invention are not limited to any specific combination ofhardware and software.

[0038]FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates a typical one of thePOS terminals 104. As seen from FIG. 3, each POS terminal 104 may beimplemented with a conventional microprocessor-based architecture,including conventional components such as a processor 302, a clockelement 304, ROM 306, RAM 308, a communications port 310 andinput/output devices 312. Stored in one or both of the ROM 306 and theRAM 308 or in another storage device is a program 314 for controllingoperation of the processor 302.

[0039] The POS terminals 104 may generally be constituted byconventional hardware arrangements for such devices, except that, forcertain embodiments of the invention, it is desirable that the POSterminals 104 include a suitable display, such as a CRT or other displaydevice capable of displaying computer generated images, graphics,photographic images or the like. Each POS terminal 104 may include twoor more displays, including one facing the POS terminal operator andanother facing the customer. It is preferred that the display facing thecustomer be capable of displaying images. In other respects theinput/output devices 312 may be conventional, including, for example, abar code scanner, an operator keypad, a magnetic stripe card reader suchas a card authorization terminal, and a receipt printer.

[0040]FIG. 4 shows a table 400 that is a representation of the productdatabase 218. The table 400 includes a column 402 for storing productidentifier codes, a column 404 for storing names of the respectiveproducts, a column 406 for storing prices of the respective products,and a column 408 for storing data representative of images of therespective products. Instead of storing the image data itself in column408, the column 408 may store pointers to locations in a separate imagedatabase, which is not shown.

[0041] Although not represented by columns in the drawing, additionaldata fields that may be supported by the product database may includedata indicative of the manufacturers of the respective products,quantity of inventory on hand, and expiration dates for respectiveportions of the inventory.

[0042] Although only four entries are shown in the table of 400, it iscontemplated that in practical embodiments of the invention a largenumber of entries, corresponding to all of the products carried by aretail store, may be stored in the product database.

[0043]FIG. 5 shows a table 500 that represents an example of the coupondatabase 220 (FIG. 2). The table 500 has a column 502 for storing codesthat identify coupons, a column 504 for storing a message to bedisplayed on the POS terminal in regard to respective coupons when therespective coupon is to be awarded as a benefit to the customer, acolumn 506 which stores either an image for indicating the respectivecoupon, or a pointer to a separate image database in which the couponimage is stored, and a column 508 for storing coupon rules. The couponrules indicate under what circumstances the respective coupons may beprovided as a benefit to the customer. Such a rule may provide, forexample, that an award of a certain coupon may be awarded if a productcorresponding to the coupon was purchased in a previous transaction butnot in the current transaction. Another such rule may provide that acertain coupon may be awarded if the customer has shopped at the storeon at least three prior occasions.

[0044] Entries for three coupons are shown in table 500 but the numberof entries could be larger or smaller.

[0045]FIG. 6 shows a table 600 that illustrates the upsell database 232.In table 600 column 602 lists identifying codes that indicate therespective upsell offers. Column 604 lists, for each respective upselloffer, a message to be provided to the customer to state the terms ofthe upsell offer. Column 606 in table 600 contains an image (or apointer to an image) with regard to each respective upsell offer. Therespective images are used to present an outcome awarding an upselloffer to a customer. The presentation may take the form of, e.g., theabove-mentioned virtual slot machine. Column 608 in table 600 listsrespective rules that govern whether the upsell offers are permissibleoutcomes of a random process for determining whether a benefit is to beawarded to the customer.

[0046]FIG. 7 shows a table 700 that represents an example of thecustomer database 224. Table 700 includes a column 702 that storescustomer identifiers, and columns 704 and 706 for respectively listingcustomer names and addresses. Also included in table 700 is a group ofcolumns 708 for storing transaction identifiers that identifytransactions engaged in by the respective customers. Under the headingof the transaction identifiers 708 are columns 710, 712 and 714 thatrespectively correspond to a first transaction entered into by arespective customer, a second transaction (if any) and a thirdtransaction (if any). Although only three columns for transactions areshown in the drawing, it is possible to store a considerably largernumber of transactions for each customer. One possible purpose of thecustomer database is to provide a key, linking transaction identifiersto customer identifiers, so that customers' purchasing histories can bereadily assembled, e.g., by reference to the transaction database whichis described below.

[0047]FIG. 8 shows a table 800 that illustrates the outcome database226. Table 800 includes a column 802 that lists types of outcomes thatmay be presented to the customer as the result of a random process. Thetypes of outcomes include upsell offers, coupons, free products (i.e.the customer is not required to pay for a product that the customer hasselected for purchase), discounts on products selected by the customer,or no prize (i.e. no benefit provided to the customer as the result of arandom outcome).

[0048] Also included in table 800 is a column 804 that lists thelikelihood or probability of occurrence of each type of outcome listedin column 802.

[0049] It should be noted that other types of benefits may be presentedto the customer as a result of a random outcome in addition to thebenefits listed in column 802. Examples of other benefits that may beawarded include cash prizes, the designation of all or any number ofproducts selected for purchase to be free of charge, or a product thatthe customer has not selected for purchase. If a product not selectedfor purchase is to be awarded, the system may select the product to beawarded by taking into account the products selected for purchase by thecustomer, the customer's purchasing history, or the transaction total.

[0050] A benefit to be awarded to a customer could include a rebate on aproduct (either a product selected for purchase or a product notselected for purchase). Such a rebate can be communicated immediatelyafter checkout. For example, a rebate may be provided by the cashier inthe form of a check or coupon. Such a rebate can be communicated sometime after checkout. For example, a rebate may be provided to thecustomer through email or postal mail.

[0051] A benefit to be awarded to a customer could include a discount ona product subscription. A product subscription is an arrangement wherebythe customer receives a discount in exchange for agreeing in advance topurchase a quantity of a product to be delivered in installments overtime. Arrangements for product subscriptions are disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,470, which is entitled, “System and Methodfor Establishing and Managing Subscription Purchase Agreements IncludingCommitments to Purchase Goods Over Time At Agreed Upon Prices.”

[0052] According to another aspect of benefits that may be awarded, thesystem may select for awarding free of charge one of the productsselected for purchase by the customer, or the system may select severalsuch products and allow the customer to pick one of the productsselected by the system to be awarded free of charge.

[0053] Moreover, one or more of the types of benefits listed in column802 may be omitted, and/or others may be provided. Also, theprobabilities of occurrence listed in column 804 may be changed. Amongother possibilities, the likelihood of occurrence of a given outcome mayvary with certain circumstances. For example, in one embodiment thetable shown in FIG. 8 may be used only for relatively large orders; adifferent table, with lower likelihoods of free product awards ordiscounts, may be used with smaller orders. More than two differentoutcome tables may be used, with the table to be used depending oncircumstances such as size of order, make up of order, customeridentity, customer purchasing history, time of day, day of the week,number of coupons available, number of upsells available, etc.

[0054] As will be discussed further below, once a particular type ofoutcome has been determined, a particular outcome of that type may beselected. For example, when it is determined that the customer is to beawarded free of charge one of the products selected for purchase, thesystem then selects a particular one of the products to be awarded. Asother examples, when an upsell or a coupon is to be awarded, then aparticular upsell or coupon may be selected. As to a particular offersuch as a coupon or an upsell, the likelihood that the offer will beselected if that type of offer is to be awarded may depend on factorssuch as the relative amounts that respective sponsors are willing to payto the retail establishment.

[0055] It is also contemplated that determining the type of outcome maydetermine the outcome itself. For example, in one embodiment, if thetype of outcome is determined to be an upsell, there may only be oneupsell to be offered. That is, only one outcome is included in the setof outcomes to which the type of outcome corresponds. As anotherexample, if the transaction consists of only one product selected forpurchase, then determining that the type of outcome is awarding apurchased product for free means that the sole selected product isawarded free of charge.

[0056] It is also contemplated that overlapping probabilities may beused to determine one or more occurrences of various types of outcomes.For example, there may be a 5% chance of a first type of outcome (e.g.,an upsell offer) and simultaneously a 50% chance of a second type ofoutcome (e.g., a coupon). Thus it is possible (with probability5%×50%=2.5%) that a customer win both an upsell offer and a coupon.Similarly, as one of the outcomes can be “No Prize” (see, e.g., FIG. 9),it is possible that one outcomes (or no outcomes) results.

[0057]FIG. 9 shows a table 900 that illustrates the presentationdatabase 228. In table 900, column 902 lists outcomes that may beproduced by a random process. Column 904 indicates how the respectiveoutcomes are to be presented via a virtual slot machine interface thatis displayed to the customer via a POS terminal 104.

[0058] In the virtual slot machine interface three virtual slot reelsare presented, and on each reel a number of indicia represented on the“rim” of the reel. These indicia may include a variety of symbolsincluding images of products that may be won or coupons that may beawarded, and symbols representing upsells that may be awarded. The threereels “spin”, as represented by rapid movement of the symbols in anupward or downward direction, until the time an outcome is determined.In general, consistent with the “slot machine” metaphor, a favorableoutcome is indicated by three identical symbols or indicia that arehorizontally aligned with each other at a “pay line”. As is well known,the “pay line” of a slot machine is a horizontal line that indicateswhich slot machine reel indicia are to be associated with the outcome ofa play cycle of a slot machine. The symbol or indicia may be an imagethat represents some aspect of the benefit to be awarded, such as animage that represents a product to be awarded free of charge, or aproduct to be discounted or for which a coupon will be provided.

[0059]FIG. 10 illustrates a typical entry 1000 stored in the transactiondatabase 230. The entry 1000 includes a field 1002 that contains aunique identifying code for the transaction in question, a field 1004that contains the customer identifier (preferably from the customerdatabase) for the customer involved in the transaction, a field 1006that contains a code for identifying the POS terminal that handled thetransaction, a field 1008 that contains the date of the transaction, afield 1010 that contains a code to identify the POS terminal operatorwho handled the transaction, a field 1012 that indicates the time atwhich the transaction occurred, a field 1014 that contains the totalprice for the transaction before sales tax (subtotal), a field 1016 thatcontains the total price for the transaction including sales tax, afield 1018 that contains product identifying codes for the productspurchased in the transaction, a field 1020 that records the outcome of arandom process applied in connection with the transaction, and a field1022 that indicates the effect of the outcome on the total transactionprice. In the particular example indicated in FIG. 10, fields 1020 and1022 indicate that the random outcome was that a certain upsell offerwas made to the customer and that the customer accepted the offer, as aresult of which the total transaction price was rounded up from $5.03 to$6.00. It may be assumed that the product offered as part of the upsellhad a retail price of more than $0.97. For example, the product offeredas part of the upsell offer may have been a magazine that is stockedadjacent to the POS terminal.

[0060]FIG. 11 shows a flow chart 1100 that illustrates a process carriedout in accordance with the invention. According to a first step 1102 inthe process 1100, a customer selects one or more products to purchase.This may occur, for example, by the customer removing the products fromshelves in the store and placing the products in a shopping cart. Then,at step 1104, the customer goes to a POS terminal, bringing along theproducts that have been selected for purchase. The POS terminal mayeither be attended by a POS terminal operator who is an employee of thestore, or the POS terminal may be a self-checkout terminal that is to beoperated by the customer himself or herself.

[0061] Then, at step 1106, a customer identifying code is entered intothe POS terminal. This may be done by interfacing a magnetic stripe cardsuch as a shopper identification card to a card reader that is aperipheral device for the POS terminal. As an alternative it iscontemplated that the customer identifying code may be entered by othertechniques, including entering of alphanumeric data via a keypad that ispart of the POS terminal.

[0062] Because the customer undertaking the transaction is identified bythe identifying code, the central controller 102, which is incommunication with the point of sale terminal in question, may be ableto access purchasing history and other information relating to thecustomer by means of the customer database 224 and the transactiondatabase 230. This information, in turn, may be used to determine whichoffers are made available as possible outcomes of a random selectionprocess to be undertaken in connection with the transaction.Consequently, the random outcome produced by the random selectionprocess may depend in part on the purchasing history or otherinformation relating to the customer in that the likelihood ofoccurrence of some or all of the possible outcomes may be determined onthe basis of the purchasing history or other information. Such otherinformation may include information relating to benefits that havepreviously been awarded to the customer.

[0063] At step 1108 product identifying codes are entered for theproducts selected for purchase by the customer and brought for checkoutto the POS terminal and the codes are received by the POS terminal. Itis contemplated that the product identifiers may be entered by anyconventional technique, including scanning bar codes carried on theproducts.

[0064] After steps 1106 and 1108, or as one or both of those steps arebeing performed, a game display is presented (step 1110) via a displayscreen associated with the POS terminal. The game display may take manyforms, but in a preferred embodiment of the invention represents avirtual slot machine with spinning “reels” of game indicia. In oneembodiment of the invention, at least some of the indicia are imagesthat represent products for which identifying codes are entered at step1108. The display screen through which the game display is provided maybe controlled by the associated POS terminal or by the centralcontroller.

[0065] At step 1112 an outcome is determined from among a number ofpossible outcomes. The outcome is selected by a random or pseudo-randomprocess from among a number of possible outcomes and in accordance withpredetermined probabilities or likelihoods of the possible outcomes. Forexample, if a certain possible outcome has a likelihood of occurrence of10%, the random process operates such that there is a 10% chance thatthe certain possible outcome will be the result of the random process.The types of outcomes and their likelihood of occurrence are determinedby reference to the outcome database 226.

[0066] To give some examples of rules that may be applied, one rule mayhold that products costing more than $2.00 are not eligible to beawarded free of charge unless the total transaction price exceeds$50.00. Another rule that may be applied would hold that the likelihoodof awarding a product free of charge is 1% for transaction totals ofless than $10.00, 2% for transaction totals between $10.00 and $50.00,and 3% for transaction totals greater than $50.00. If the latter rule isapplicable, and the transaction consists of five items and totals lessthan $10.00, the respective likelihood of each particular product beingawarded free of charge may be the same for every product, i.e. 0.002.Alternatively, the likelihood of a particular product being awarded freemay be inversely proportional to the price of the product, such that aproduct that costs half as much as another product would be twice aslikely to be awarded free.

[0067] The likelihood of awarding a 50% discount on a given product maybe adjusted according to similar rules.

[0068] Other rules may cause the likelihood of particular types ofoutcomes to be varied depending on factors such as the identity of thecustomer (e.g., whether the customer is a new customer or a preferredcustomer) or the availability of inventory to support awarding of aparticular product. This information may be tracked, for example via aninventory database.

[0069] The random process may be constrained so that no more than onebenefit, such as no more than one free product, may be awarded.Alternatively, more than one benefit may be awarded. There may beestablished a certain likelihood that all the products selected for thetransaction may be awarded free of charge. There may also be anotherbenefit having a certain likelihood of occurrence, such as a large cashprize or a free car. From the point of view of the merchant it may bedesirable that any possible large prize have a small likelihood ofoccurrence so that the per transaction cost of the program is low. Thelikelihood that one of the more desirable benefits awarded may beadjusted depending on previous benefits that have been awarded to thecustomer. For example, it may be made less likely that the customer willbe awarded a large prize or a free product if the customer has recentlywon a similar prize.

[0070] Once the type of outcome has been determined, it may then benecessary to select a particular outcome of the determined outcome. Forexample, if a free product is to be awarded, certain rules may beapplied to select one of the products chosen for purchase by thecustomers. Instances of such rules have been mentioned above, and mayinclude purely random selection of one of the products, or randomselection with the likelihood of selection inversely proportional to thecost of the item. Similar approaches may be taken to selecting a productfor a 50% discount, if that type of outcome is determined.

[0071] If the type of outcome is determined to be an award of an upsellor a coupon, rules may be applied to select a particular upsell orcoupon to be awarded. Such rules may be stored in suitable databases,such as an upsell outcome database or a coupon upsell database.

[0072] The rules that may be prescribed by potential sponsors of suchoffers, and may depend on whether sponsors have paid to sponsor suchoffers. The relative likelihood that a particular upsell or coupon maybe awarded may depend on the relative amounts that sponsors have paid.For example, if sponsor A has paid twice as large a sponsorship fee assponsor B, then it may be twice as likely that sponsor A's coupons willbe awarded as sponsor B's.

[0073] Whether an upsell offer is included as a possible outcome or notmay depend upon availability of a product to be proposed as anadditional item in the transaction pursuant to the upsell offer. Inaddition, or alternatively, the availability of an upsell offer as apossible outcome may depend on whether the products proposed to be addedto the transaction are due to “expire” shortly. As will be appreciatedby those who are skilled in the art, many products have limited shelflives. Among these are many types of groceries, as well as periodicalssuch as magazines that are due to be replaced by new editions as of agiven date. Inclusion of an upsell as a possible outcome may also dependon an amount of change that would be provided in connection with atransaction in the absence of an upsell. For example, if the transactiontotal results in $0.50 due, a product that costs $0.50 or a modestamount more than $0.50 may be offered as an upsell. Techniques forimplementing so-called “spare change upsells” are disclosed incommonly-assigned patent application Ser. No. 08/920,116, filed Aug. 26,1997, and entitled “Method and System for Processing SupplementaryProduct Sales at a Point-of-Sale Terminal”.

[0074] Performance of steps 1110 and 1112 may also be contingent onvarious circumstances. For example, the game presentation and the randomdetermination of a possible benefit may only be provided to customerswho purchase more than a certain number of products. As anotheralternative, the game presentation and the random determination may onlybe provided for customers whose purchases total more than a certainamount of money. As still another alternative, the game presentation andthe random determination of a benefit may only be provided for customerswho purchase certain products or certain quantities of certain products.

[0075] Moreover, the provision of these features may be dependent on thetime of day, day of the week, day of the month, etc. In one embodiment,steps 1110 and 1112 are only included in the process of FIG. 11 at timesof the day when traffic is normally rather light in the store, so as toavoid delays at the POS terminal during times of peak usage of thestore.

[0076] Still further, the steps 1110 and 1112 may only be provided tocertain customers, such as those who have a history of spending acertain amount or visiting the store with a certain degree of frequency;i.e., these steps may only be provided for preferred customers. As stillanother possibility, these steps may be provided only for customers whohave indicated in a customer profile that they wish to have these stepsprovided. It is also possible that steps 1110 and 1112 may only beprovided to customers who have customer identification cards.Alternatively, steps 1110 and 1112 may be provided both to customers whohave customer identification cards and to those who lack customeridentification cards. In the latter case, step 1106 may be omitted.

[0077] It is also contemplated that customers may be charged money forthe privilege of receiving steps 1110 and 1112. In such a casecompliance with gambling regulations may be required. It may also benecessary to provide alternate forms of entry for the random processesdisclosed herein.

[0078] As yet another alternative, only certain customers who purchasecertain products may be provided with steps 1110 and 1112.

[0079] At step 1114 the outcome determined at step 1112 is presented tothe customer. For example, if it has been determined that one of theproducts selected for purchase by the customer is to be awarded free ofcharge to the customer, then a display like that shown in FIG. 12 may bepresented to the customer at the display device associated with the POSterminal. It will be seen that in the display of FIG. 12 three images ofa product (“Can o'Corn”) are horizontally aligned to represent identicalindicia on slot machine reels lining up to indicate a winning outcome.This is in accordance with the virtual slot machine interface referredto above. A similar display may be provided, with images of a couponreplacing the images of the product, if the random process results in acoupon being selected as a benefit to be awarded to the customer.Similarly, three symbols representing an upsell offer may replace theproduct images 1202 if it is determined that an upsell offer is to beprovided to the customer. If the random process results in a 50%discount being awarded on a product, then one of the three productimages shown in FIG. 12 may be replaced with a different symbol and thelegend shown at 1204 may be replaced with the legend such as “50% offthe Can o'Corn”. If no benefit is to be awarded as a result of therandom process, the display may show three different symbolshorizontally aligned, to simulate a losing outcome on a slot machine. Inthe latter case, the display may include a legend such as “Sorry, noprize this time.”

[0080] The spinning of the virtual reels may stop at a timing controlledby the system, or in response to the customer pressing a button. In thelatter case, it is preferable that the timing at which the customerpresses the button have no effect on the outcome determined by thesystem.

[0081] If a coupon is awarded as a result of the random process, thecoupon may be printed out at the POS terminal via a coupon printerinterfaced to the POS terminal. Alternatively, the coupon may be avirtual coupon that will be automatically redeemed if the customerpurchases the product covered by the coupon during a subsequent visit tothe store. Immediate redemption of the coupon or virtual coupon is alsocontemplated.

[0082] It is contemplated to employ game presentations other than avirtual slot machine reel in connection with the invention. Such othergame presentations may include a virtual car race in which an imagecarried on the “winning car” indicates the outcome of the randomprocess. For such a game presentation it is also contemplated to providea user interface to the customer to enable the customer to control oneof the cars in the car race. However, the result of the race may stillbe controlled by the central controller and/or the POS terminal suchthat the system operates a car or cars more successfully than thecustomer to control the outcome of the car race.

[0083] Another possible game presentation would be a basketball freethrow competition in which animated characters compete to throw abasketball into a hoop. The characters may wear images that correspondto various possible outcomes, with the outcome determined by the randomprocess being reflected by the image worn by the successful competitoramong the animated characters.

[0084] An animated horseshoe competition is another possible gamepresentation.

[0085] In addition, other representations may be used, includinganimated characters who answer trivia questions, three virtual doorspresented for selection by the customer, or a spinning wheel like aroulette wheel or a vertically-oriented wheel with prices around thecircumference.

[0086] Other entertainment interfaces of the types described in theabove-referenced patent application Ser. No. 09/538,773 may also beused.

[0087] The present invention also contemplates omitting the gamepresentation and presenting the outcome of a random process to thecustomer by means of text output. The text output may be displayed ormay be printed out by, for example, a receipt printer.

[0088] At step 1116 the transaction is completed. Thus, for example, atransaction total is calculated, based on any benefit such as a freeproduct or product discount that resulted from step 1112, or taking intoaccount any upsell offer accepted by the customer. The customer pays forthe transaction, by cash, check or credit card, and a suitable receiptis printed.

[0089] With the system of the present invention, retailers can make theshopping experience, and particularly time spent at the POS terminal,more entertaining and enjoyable for customers. As a result, an increasednumber of customers may be attracted to stores in which the presentinvention is applied.

[0090] In addition, because the game presentation and/or thepresentation of results of a prize drawing tends to attract customers'attention to the display of the POS terminal, it may be desirable toinject advertising content into the display of the POS terminal, togenerate advertising revenue for the proprietor of the store and/or theproprietor of the system. The system of the invention also may be avehicle for presenting coupons and other promotions to customers. Theadvertising content may, but need not, be related to products that arepromoted through the game presentation and the coupons or otherpromotional offers made available through the system of the invention.

[0091] According to other embodiments of the invention, it iscontemplated to provide game presentations, and report results of randomprocesses that may involve awarding a benefit to a customer, viaterminals that are not POS terminals. For example, such terminals may bethe shelf terminals 106 referred to in connection with FIG. 1 andlocated at store shelves on which products are presented for selectionby customers. The terminals 106 may be similar to POS terminals, but maylack structure for receiving and storing currency and also may lackfacilities for cashier entry of data, receipt printing or processingcredit cards.

[0092] Alternatively, one or more of the shelf terminals 106 may beimplemented as a portable computing device such as a personal digitalassistant (PDA) carried by the customer and in wireless datacommunication with the central controller 102.

[0093]FIG. 13 shows a flow chart 1300 that illustrates a process carriedout in accordance with the invention via shelf terminals 106.

[0094] At step 1302 in FIG. 13 the customer enters a customeridentifying code at the shelf terminal and the code is received by theshelf terminal. As in step 1106, this may be done by swiping a shopperidentification card having a magnetic stripe through a magnetic cardreader, if such a reader is provided as part of the shelf terminal.Alternatively, the customer identifier may be entered through aconventional manual entry device such as a keypad or a touch screen.

[0095] At step 1304 the customer indicates an interest in purchasing aproduct. This may be done by using a bar code scanner, if available, toscan a bar code carried on a product that the customer wishes to selectfor purchase. Alternatively, a product identifying code may be enteredvia a touch screen or key pad. It is also contemplated that a touchscreen at the shelf terminal may include icons or text strings thatidentify the products at the shelf and that may be actuated by thecustomer.

[0096] Decision block 1306 represents a determination as to whether thecustomer has indicated that he or she has completed his or her selectionof products for purchase. If the customer has not so indicated, then heor she may enter additional product identifiers at the shelf terminaland/or he or she may proceed on to one or more other shelf terminals atwhich the customer's identifier and additional product identifiers maybe entered.

[0097] Once the customer has indicated selection of the last product,steps 1308, 1310 and 1312 follow. These may be, for example,substantially the same as the steps 1110, 1112 and 1114 described inconnection with FIG. 11. It is accordingly not necessary to describesteps 1308-1312 in detail. It should be noted that the game presentationstep 1308 may be started prior to the customer completing the selectionof products for purchase.

[0098] It is particularly advantageous to perform step 1312 at the shelfterminal 106 in connection with upsell offers, since in some situationsit may be more convenient for the customer to find and collect a productoffered pursuant to an upsell before the customer has proceeded to thePOS terminal.

[0099] After steps 1308-1312, the customer proceeds to the POS terminalwith the products that he or she has selected for purchase (step 1314).Then the transaction is completed (step 1316), which may occur in thesame manner as was discussed in connection with step 1116 (FIG. 11). Itwill be understood that the results of steps 1308-1312 may have beencommunicated via the system to the POS terminal to aid in the checkouttransaction at the POS terminal and to permit any award to be redeemedat the POS terminal. Results of steps 1308-1312 and any award may alsobe printed out at the shelf terminal and the resulting printed recordpresented at the POS terminal for processing and redemption of theaward.

[0100] One advantage of the method of FIG. 13 is that the system maykeep track of items that are usually purchased by the customer, and mayprovide a display to the customer to remind the customer of items thathe or she customarily purchases but which have not been included in theprocess represented by the loop of steps 1302-1306. Alternatively, thesystem may simply analyze the set of products entered by the customer torecommend additional products that would be complementary to those thatthe customer has indicated an intention of purchasing.

[0101] Another advantage of the method of FIG. 13 is that the customerhas entered product identifiers into the system prior to reaching thePOS terminal, so that the transaction at the POS terminal itself may beexpedited, thereby saving labor costs for the proprietor of the store.

[0102] Moreover, like the embodiment of FIG. 11, the embodiment of FIG.13 helps to make the shopping experience entertaining for customers,thereby serving to attract customers to the store.

[0103] It has been noted above that game presentation may be omitted andthe outcome of a random process may be presented to the customer byother means, such as by printed output. Thus the aspects of the presentinvention relating to awarding free of charge a product selected forpurchase may be embodied without embodying the aspects of the inventionrelated to displaying images of products. Furthermore, the aspects ofthe invention relating to awarding of free products may be omitted froman embodiment in which images of products are displayed. The productimages may be displayed in a game presentation or otherwise.

[0104] In the examples provided above, random processes to determinewhether a benefit is to be awarded are performed on atransaction-by-transaction basis, such that a plurality of productsselected by the customer are eligible to be awarded free of charge.Alternatively, a random process to determine whether a benefit is to beawarded may be performed each time the customer selects a product forpurchase. For example, a random process may be carried out on eachoccasion when a product code is entered into a POS terminal or a shelfterminal, and a game interface such as a virtual slot machine interfacemay be provided to indicate the outcome of the random process.

[0105] The exemplary embodiments described above indicate that thepresent invention may be applied in a supermarket. It is alsocontemplated to apply the present invention in other types of stores,including hardware stores and home centers, clothing stores, drugstores, department stores, fast food restaurants, bars and vendingmachines.

[0106] In one embodiment of the invention as applied to a fast foodrestaurant, a drive-through ordering terminal includes a display screenthat displays images of products as they are ordered. Similarly, in arestaurant with sit-down service, images of items ordered may bedisplayed by using digital menus or via screens installed at tables.

[0107] According to an aspect of the invention, a method of handling atransaction at a point of sale (POS) terminal includes entering aplurality of product identifiers, each corresponding to a respectiveproduct selected for purchase by a customer, and generating a randomoutcome to determine if the customer wins one of the selected products,the random outcome also determining which one of the plurality of theselected products is won. A result of the generating step may bepresented to the customer via an entertainment interface, such as adisplay screen depicting a slot machine.

[0108] According to another aspect of the invention, a method ofhandling a transaction at a POS terminal includes entering a productidentifier that corresponds to a product selected for purchase, and,responsive to entry of the product identifier, displaying an image thatrepresents the corresponding product.

[0109] According to still another aspect of the invention, a method ofhandling a transaction at a POS terminal includes entering into the POSterminal data for identifying a customer, and generating a randomoutcome to determine whether a benefit is provided to the customer,wherein the random outcome depends in part on a purchasing history ofthe customer. The benefit to be provided to the customer may be acoupon, an upsell offer, a free product or a discount offer.

[0110] According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method ofhandling a transaction at a POS terminal includes entering into the POSterminal data for identifying a customer, and generating a randomoutcome to determine whether a benefit is provided to the customer,where the random outcome depends in part on an outcome that waspreviously provided to the customer.

[0111] According to still a further aspect of the invention, a method ofentertaining a customer at a shelf in a retail store includes enteringinto a terminal at the shelf a product identifier that corresponds to aproduct selected for purchase by the customer, and, responsive to entryof the product identifier, displaying to the customer an image thatrepresents the corresponding product.

[0112] According to still another aspect of the invention, a method ofentertaining a customer at a shelf in a retail store includes enteringinto a terminal at the shelf at least one product identifier thatcorresponds to a respective product selected for purchase, andgenerating a random outcome to determine whether the customer wins aproduct that corresponds to the at least one product identifier.

[0113] Although the present invention has been described with respect topreferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will note thatvarious substitutions, modifications and variations may be made withrespect to the embodiments described herein without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a plurality ofproduct identifiers, each corresponding to a respective product selectedfor purchase by a customer; generating a plurality of random outcomes,each random outcome representing the possibility of; and determiningwhich one of the selected products is won.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the product identifiers are received by scanning bar codes onthe products.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising presentingthe random outcome to the customer.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe random outcome is displayed to the customer.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the random outcome is displayed in an entertainmentinterface.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the entertainment interfaceincludes an image of at least one of the products corresponding to thereceived product identifiers.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a customer identifier for identifying thecustomer.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the customer identifier isreceived by swiping a magnetic stripe card through a card reader.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: displaying an image thatrepresents at least one of the products that correspond to the receivedproduct identifiers.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the randomoutcome is generated by a server computer that communicates the randomoutcome to the POS terminal.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: displaying an image that represents the correspondingproduct.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the image is provided as anindicia on a virtual slot machine reel.
 13. An apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and a storage device, in which the storage device stores aprogram which is operable to direct the processor to perform the methodof claim
 1. 14. A computer readable medium that stores a program whichis operable to direct the processor to perform the method of claim 1.15. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving a plurality of productidentifiers, each corresponding to a respective product selected forpurchase by a customer; means for generating a plurality of randomoutcomes, each random outcome representing the possibility of; and meansfor determining which one of the selected products is won.